


we made it

by harryisqueen



Series: walls [2]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: (college AU in the sense there are parts where they're both in college), Alternate Universe - After College/University, Alternate Universe - College/University, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Growing Old Together, Marriage, Marriage Proposal, Mild Language, Mileven, Moving In Together, Song fic, Song: We Made It (Louis Tomlinson)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-15
Updated: 2020-09-15
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:07:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26485411
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harryisqueen/pseuds/harryisqueen
Summary: 'Cause we made itUnderestimatedAnd always underratedNow we're saying goodbyeWaving to the hard timesYeah, it's gonna be alrightLike the first timeor little glimpses into Mike & Elevens lives expressed through lyrics of Louis Tomlinson's We Made it
Relationships: Eleven | Jane Hopper/Mike Wheeler, Maxine "Max" Mayfield/Lucas Sinclair
Series: walls [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1926490
Comments: 6
Kudos: 16





	we made it

**Author's Note:**

> Figured I should put this at the very beginning; STREAM WALLS BY LOUIS TOMLINSON (And his singles ;))

_'Cause we made it_ _  
Underestimated  
And always underrated_

_Now we're saying goodbye_ _  
Waving to the hard times  
Yeah, it's gonna be alright  
Like the first time_

18 years old.

El studied Mike from across the table; his tongue was poking out of the side of his mouth as he focused on reading the letter he had just received from Indiana State University.

She held her breath as his eyes scanned the page.

El startled slightly when Mike threw the paper down on the table, quickly rounded it and threw his arms around Els's waist, picking her up and swinging her around as he rejoiced.

She wasn’t sure exactly what he had said but she knew he had got in.

Then it really hit her

He had gotten in and El was so unbelievably proud of him.

When Mike had finally let her back down on her feet she leaned up and gave him a firm kiss.

“I’m so proud of you darling.”

_Met you at your doorstep_ _  
Remember how we tasted  
Looking into your eyes  
Baby, you were still high  
Never coming down with your hand in mine_

18 years old.

El couldn’t stop smiling as she and Mike walked hand and hand back to her dorm.

She didn’t even care that they would be separated for the next few months until they could see each other for Christmas.

Their lives were starting.

Their friends had all drove down to help her move into school and she was greatly appreciative and Dustins "special cookies" had helped her let go of some of the stress.

The six of them had sat around and talked and reminisced for hours and then once their friends had left El decided she needed a scone from the local 24-hour bakery so the two of them had walked there and gotten exactly what she’d been craving.

Once the two of them had made it back to Els dorm she gripped Mikes hand tightly and turned to give him a watery smile.

She knew saying their goodbyes were not going to be easy but they would get through it just like they had with everything else since they were young.

So, without prolonging their farewell any longer El leaned up like she had so many times before and kissed Mike murmuring a soft “I love you” into his lips.

_Oh my, I remember those nights_ _  
Meet you at your uni', cheap drinks  
Drink 'em all night_

21 years old

The two of them took turns visiting each other at their separate schools and this month it was Mikes turn.

He had work early in the day but as soon as he was off he was coming down.

It was nearly 10 pm when he showed up but El was so excited to see him she practically knocked him over when she opened the door to let him in.

The two of them ate their dinner on the couch and then curled up to watch a movie with a $4 bottle of wine to share.

El could hardly focus on the movie because she was truly so enamoured by Mike.

She couldn’t believe how lucky she was.

_Staying out 'til sunrise_ _  
Share a single bed and tell each other what we dream about  
Things we'd never say to someone else out loud_

17 years old.

El had grown to love parties over the years.

If you had invited her to a party 4 years ago she would’ve outright refused (after asking what a party was) but now she didn’t mind tagging along with her friends to parties on the weekend.

However, she would be lying if she said she never got overwhelmed by all the people and the atmosphere in general.

When this happened Mike always knew, it was almost like he had a sixth sense for this type of thing and when he sensed it he’d gently grab her arm and guide her outside.

“Thank you, Mike.” She breathed once they had finally gotten out of the house.

“What are boyfriends for?”

Mike grabbed her hand and laced their fingers together as the two of them walked back to his house.

The two of them snuck into the basement and pulled out the futon for them to sleep on.

El never minded how cramped it got because it was better than the risk of being caught in Mikes bed together plus she never minded a cuddle session with Mike.

The two of them had been laying down for a little bit just listening to each other breathe when El pulled away from Mike and rested her hand under her cheek.

“Do you ever wonder where we’d be individually if we had never met each other? Do you think we’d have found our way to each other or would we just exist not knowing the other was out there?” 

Mike raised his eyebrows at her “I have thought about it a few times but I think everything that happened that night happened so that I could meet you and we could have each other” He paused “have you ever heard of the butterfly theory?”

El quirked an eyebrow at him “Is this another one of your sciencey things that I am not going to understand?”

“No, it’s actually pretty interesting. To put it simply and briefly it pretty much just says that every little thing in our lives happens for a reason and if just one little thing changed everything could be so different. So, like if Will hadn't rolled a 7 that night when we were playing DND you and I might have never met."

“So, we have that 7 to thank for everything.”

Mike let out a quiet laugh at that.

“Sure. We owe everything to that 7.”

_We were only kids, just tryna work it out_

13 years old.

“You've been hiding her. You've been hiding her this whole time!”

Mike shoved Hopper and Els's heart ached.

She wished she could have said something sooner.

Wished she could have been there for Mike through everything but she couldn’t.

It just wasn’t safe.

El bit her nails anxiously as she listened to Mike scream at Hop and then the two of them go silent.

Finally, the two of them exited the room and her heart broke all over again when she saw Mikes red tear-stained cheeks.

She walked towards him quickly and wrapped him in a tight hug.

They would figure this all out and finally be able to be together.

_Wonder what they'd think if they could see us now._

26 years old.

El stared at her lap as she listened to her bridesmaids excitedly bustle around behind her.

She almost couldn’t believe it.

After 14 years with Mike, they were getting married.

It felt like decades ago that she was the scared shivering girl in the woods and he was the small dorky boy who found her.

Over the years the two of them had had their ups and downs but they remained strong and true to one another.

“Hey baby, how are you feeling?”

El glanced up into the mirror where she made eye contact with Joyce.

She turned around and wordlessly walked to Joyce and wrapped her arms around the woman who had been the closest thing to a mom she ever had.

“I’m really missing him today and I just can’t shake the feeling that if I had just planned the wedding sooner he’d be able to witness our wedding,” El whispered after a few moments.

She looked at Joyce with glossy eyes.

“I know sweetie but if he was here he’d be so proud of you. He loved you so much and supported you and Mike just as much.” Joyce paused and caressed El’s cheek “You’re so beautiful and strong and Hop always saw that in you and he would be so incredibly proud of his little girl on her wedding day.”

El sniffled and looked up at the ceiling to avoid ruining her makeup that the hired artist had done.

“Thank you Joyce I love you so much I wish I could put into words how much you mean to us and how much you’ve helped me.”

“I love you too sweet girl but it’s no time to get sentimental you’re getting married.”

_Oh, God, what I could've become_ _  
Don't know why they put all of this on us when we're so young  
Done a pretty good job dealing with it all_

22 years old.

After both of them had graduated they decided to move back to Hawkins. That was were their family was and they were fairly certain both of them could get a job in their select fields.

El was, however, dreading letting her dad know that she would not be moving back in with him & Joyce but she and Mike would be living together.

Mike had told her not to worry about it, it would all work out for them like it always did but she couldn’t help feeling nervous

A few hours later and El realized she was perfectly justified in her worry because Hopper had already started on his list of reasons why this was a bad idea and living on their own was going to cause them to crash and burn.

“I don’t know where you come from being a prude dad. You and Joyce live together and you’re not married!” El interrupted when she had finally had enough of listening to her dad ramble on.

“It’s not about being a prude it’s about making sure you two can support yourselves. You’re both 22 and fresh out of college. I hate to break it to you but it’s not exactly easy to get a job when you’ve just graduated no matter how optimistic you two are feeling.”

“It’s not impossible though! I know we can do it we’re going to look for apartments this week and both of us will find a job as soon as we can.”

“You’re not making a good case kid. You’re just showing me that you two are unprepared to take care of each other.”

“With all due respect Sir, me and El.”

“El and I.” Hopper interrupted.

Mike rolled his eyes “El and I are more than equipped to do this we have a nest egg that we’ve been saving so that we could move in together and be able to fully support ourselves.”

“Listen, kid- “

“Alright I’m stopping this before any of you can start a fight,” Joyce interrupted “Why don’t you two stay in El’s old room until you can get on your feet properly. Hop & I would love to have you and you two will only have to worry about one thing at a time.”

El felt like she could finally breathe a sigh of relief at Joyce’s offer.

This should appease Mike & Hopper plus they wouldn’t have to worry about trying to find an apartment and jobs at the same time.

There was a long stretched out silence with Hopper glowering at the table and Mike seeming to be hesitantly thinking it over.

“Just say yes you stubborn ass.” El mouthed at Mike with a smirk

“Thank you so much for the offer, Joyce. It sounds like a great idea.”

_When you're here, don't need to say no more_ _  
Nothing in the world that I would change it for._

19 years old.

El rested her cheek on Mike's shoulder as the two of them gently swayed to Leather and Lace.

Her whole body although exhausted was still exploding with excitement from the wedding.

“You doing okay darling?” Mike said into the top of her head.

“I’m fine just thinking about how much I love you and how happy I am.”

“If you think that’s going to get me to pop the question at someone else’s wedding you are sadly mistaken,” Mike said with a mischievous smile.

“Oh hush, I’m trying to be sentimental.”

The two continued to dance until the song ended and they exited the dance floor as the DJ announced that Lucas and Max would now be having their first dance.

Once the two of them had settled back into their seats El grabbed Mikes hand and squeezed it.

“I am so lucky to have you.” She whispered with a smile.

Mike leaned over and pressed a kiss to her eyebrow,

“I think I’m the lucky one here but you’ll just try to argue that so we’ll just say we’re both lucky.”

_Singing something poppy on the same four chords_

24 years old

Mike had drug El out of the house for karaoke with their friends.

El was beyond perplexed to see her dad sitting at one of the tables in the crowded bar but got over it quickly when Max grabbed El in a tight hug and began filling El in on everything going on in her life.

Mike had been acting weird since they had gotten to the bar but El had ignored it in favour of singing obnoxiously with Max & Dustin when suddenly Mike rubbed his hands against his thighs and then stood up.

“Where are you going?” she questioned stopping him by his sleeve.

“I’m gonna go sing.”

El’s eyebrows shot into her forehead as she watched Mike clumsily stumble onto the stage.

Mike cleared his throat into the microphone “Um tonight I’m here with my girlfriend of almost 13 years and I just wanted to sing a special song for her to um show her how much I love her.”

The crowd whooped excitedly as Els's mouth dropped open as Mike began singing You’re still the one.

Her eyes stayed on Mike during the entire performance her mouth opened just a tiny bit in awe at not only the fact that Mike was actually up there singing but didn’t even sound half bad.

El watched in confusion as Mike made his way off the stage and started making his way towards her as he sang the last chorus.

Once he got to her he dropped onto his knee and pulled a box out of his back pocket.

“I'm so glad we made it look how far we've come, my baby.” Mike paused to clear his throat but then continued to talk into the microphone shifting his gaze to look her in the eye. “12 years ago, I met this girl and since then she’s not only been my girlfriend but also my best friend and partner in everything in life.”

Her mind was running on overdrive as Mike talked when it hit her.

Holy shit he was about to propose.

“El I love you so much. I would say more and make this extremely sappy but you’ve got a certain way of always being able to tell exactly what I’m feeling so I guess what I’m trying to say is will you marry me?”

El’s throat was almost too tight to give a verbal confirmation but once she did Mike passed the microphone over to Lucas and slid the engagement ring on her left hand and pulled her into a tight hug.

The two of them didn’t pull away from each other for a long time but when they did Mike immediately leaned back in to pepper her entire face with soft kisses.

El startled when she was yanked away from Mike.

“You two are nauseating and people want to see the ring,” Max exclaimed with a grin.

_Used to worry 'bout it but I don't no more, yeah_

82 years old.

70 years later and all the love she had felt for Mike that rainy night in the woods still rang true. Sometimes she still had to pinch herself and remind herself that this was really her life.

The life that Mike had given her.

He had passed not even a full year ago but El could already feel that he was pulling her to him again so that they could finish their life together in eternity

Throughout her life, there were very few things for El that had been easy to do or decide on but the one thing she was always sure of was Mike.

_ Cause we made it _

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you all enjoyed!  
> If any of you subscribe to me and came from email notifications I want to apologize for being so inconsistent. I'm in my senior year which doesn't leave me with much time for writing. However, I'm going to try to be better about writing & posting.  
> Oh! Also I cannot tell y'all how relieved I was when I woke up back in February and saw that daddy Hop is still alive (Incase y'all care he's 100% my favorite character)  
> Anyways once again thank you all so much for reading!
> 
> [My tumblr](http://www.harryisqu33n.tumblr.com)


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